1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bread slicing and storage unit particularly designed for home use, having adjustable slicing guides and a movable end plate for accommodating loaves of varying sizes and a cover for using the apparatus as a compact bread storage container when not in use for slicing purposes.
2. Prior Art
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to produce an efficient bread slicing unit. With home baking gaining in popularity, the need for such apparatus naturally increases. Perhaps nothing is quite so frustrating as producing a perfectly baked loaf of bread only to transform it into an unrecognizable mass in an attempt to slice it.
A simple bread cutter is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 179,934, issued July 18, 1876, to Merwin which discloses a rectangular case having vertical slits in the sides thereof for slicing bread into block forms. Use of the apparatus, however, requires that the loaf be first cut to the size of the rectangular case and transferred thereto for slicing.
The combined bread box, slicer, and knife holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,822,581, granted to Brown and issued Sept. 8, 1931, also uses a plurality of slicing guides but makes no provision to accommodate bread loaves of varying sizes. Similar problems are also encountered with the slicing board shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,398,192 issued to Scheninger on Apr. 9, 1946.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,058,503 issued Oct. 16, 1962 to Perakis which was designed primarily for cutting meat does not function properly as a practical matter for slicing soft compressible foodstuffs, such as bread, in thin slices.
It is therefore an object of this invention to disclose a practical efficient bread slicer which will accommodate bread loaves of varying sizes and also serve as a storage container for the loaves.